Williams v. Eckstein

Filing 35

ORDER denying stay and denying motion to dismiss signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C Dries on 5-29-2020. Petitioner's brief or motion to stay due by July 27, 2020. (cc: all counsel, via US Mail to petitioner)(Dries, Stephen) Modified on 5/29/2020 (amb).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
JOVAN WILLIAMS,
Petitioner,
v.

Case No. 17-CV-602-SCD

SCOTT ECKSTEIN,
Respondent.
ORDER
Petitioner Jovan Williams filed this habeas corpus action on April 27, 2017. ECF No.
1. U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper, Chief Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin,
screened the petition, concluded that there were potentially three viable, exhausted claims in
the petition, and set a briefing schedule for processing the petition. ECF No. 7. After the
respondent filed his answer to the petition, Williams filed an unsuccessful motion to appoint
counsel. See ECF No. 16. Williams then requested and was granted five ninety-day extensions
of time to file a brief in support in support of his petition. See ECF Nos. 16, 18, 20, 22, 26.
The last extension was granted on February 4, 2020; Judge Pepper warned Williams that it
would be the last extension granted by the court. ECF No. 26 at 7. Judge Pepper also warned
Williams that his case would be dismissed for lack of diligence if by the end of the day on
May 4, 2020, he didn’t file either a brief in support of his petition or a motion to stay this case
while he exhausts state-court remedies.

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On May 4, 2020, Williams filed a motion requesting to stay this case until the COVID19 pandemic is over. See ECF No. 29. Williams asserts that his place of incarceration,
Waupun Correctional Institution, is on “lockdown,” thereby preventing him from visiting the
institution’s law library, reviewing his legal transcripts (which purportedly are saved on a
disc), and preparing the materials necessary to proceed with this matter. Id. The respondent
opposes the request to stay and asks the court to dismiss the petition for failure to diligently
prosecute it. See ECF No. 31. The matter was reassigned to me on May 12, 2020, after all
parties consented to magistrate-judge jurisdiction. See ECF No. 34; see also ECF Nos. 30, 33
(citing 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b)).
The respondent presents a good case for dismissal. This matter has been pending for
over three years. Williams still hasn’t filed a brief in support of his petition, nor has he taken
any steps to pursue additional post-conviction relief in state court. Also, he didn’t comply
with Judge Pepper’s February 4, 2020 order, wherein she warned that lack of compliance
would result in dismissal of this action. Nevertheless, I am sensitive to the unexpected and
unprecedent situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on the state’s
correctional institutions (and particularly Waupun, where Williams is located). I will
therefore give Williams one last chance to continue with this habeas action.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons given above, the petitioner’s motion to stay, ECF No. 29, and the
respondent’s motion to dismiss, ECF No. 31, are DENIED. By July 27, 2020, Williams must
file either (1) a brief in support of his petition or (2) a motion to stay while he exhausts statecourt remedies. Failure to comply with this order will result in the dismissal of this case
pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) and E.D. Wis. Civ. L. R. 41(c).
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SO ORDERED this 29th day of May, 2020.

__________________________
STEPHEN C. DRIES
United States Magistrate Judge

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